Gps to lap top

[aus2ra]

I have just got a lap top and coupled with my 600 what a great way to plan trips easy. It used to piss me off doing it through the gps alone and I never used it to its full potential. Just a quick question. Should the lap top plot my path when used with the GPS? I am using mapsend lite I think on the computer and cant work it out?

[diehard]

Assuming the GPS is installed on the laptop, and the COM ports have been selected etc....

You need to set the GPS to communications > NMEA and go to the bottom option.

Then on the laptop go to MapManager > GPS LOG > START...it should show you onthe map where you are.

Any problems just PM me

[flexit]

diehard it sound;s you might now what is to now about gps.? will you give me a hand.? i have a laptop and a satellite receiver/mouse i got of eBay. its plugged in to the moues Port should this start picking satellites up straightaway or do i have to pay or do i need other things first. i got software drivers with the receiver/mouse/aerial. all help would be much appreciated. thanks

[diehard]

diehard it sound;s you might now what is to now about gps.? will you give me a hand.? i have a laptop and a satellite receiver/mouse i got of eBay. its plugged in to the moues Port should this start picking satellites up straightaway or do i have to pay or do i need other things first. i got software drivers with the receiver/mouse/aerial. all help would be much appreciated. thanks

OK, most mouse gps are a receiver only, so you will need to put the data from the gps into a mapping program.

The best (in my opinion) is ozi explorer or discoveraus, and they are both compatible with mice gps. The software you got would be a driver only, not a mapping program i suspect.

What you need to do it fire up one of these programs, and ask it to start communicating with the gps. This is done via gps logging, or moving map as it is known on some programs. Mice GPS aren't like a normal gps with a screen. Normal GPS can stand alone or be used with a program, the mice GPS are for programs only. PM me or drop me an email, I need to know what software you are running (or plan to run) etc.

[flexit]

pm sent

[Patrolman Pat]

As diehard said you need a program and some maps on your laptop. Oziexplorer is the best IMO by a long shot and worth every cent. Discoveraus is OK but I never use it anymore. Once you use this you'll neve look back, it brings a whole new dimemsion to travelling IMO. Maps can be found from a number of sources online, just ask around for the maps you need.

[Richard]

I normally run a PDA with a BT338 GPS reciever.
I'm just about to head off on a long trip so wanted a backup system.
I have a Megallen 315 and an old laptop so I was able to patch the Magellan 315 to the laptop using the power cable which has a serial plug and a Belken Serial Port/USB adapter. I'm running OziexplorerCE on the PDA and Oziexplorer on the laptop.
Ozi will create a plot file which can be saved and viewed later on digital maps to see where you have been. The plot file can also be exported to Google Earth.

[Henk Bos]

Have a look at Franson GPS Gate software. They have a free trial version.
I have it running on my carPC. Basically it splits the input of your GPS, so you can use it within different programs. I run Garmin NRoute when on the road and switch to Ozi as soon as I go offroad. When in range I also run GETrack for tracking with Google Earth.

[Richard]

Have a look at Franson GPS Gate software. They have a free trial version.
I have it running on my carPC. Basically it splits the input of your GPS, so you can use it within different programs. I run Garmin NRoute when on the road and switch to Ozi as soon as I go offroad. When in range I also run GETrack for tracking with Google Earth.

I use it on the PDA to run Ozi and Tomtom at the same time. For what its worth the latest version can also send your GPS coords via a mobile phone to Fransons servers to allow anyone to see your location and track your movement on a map. You need to allow them have access.

[aus2ra]

Thanks die hard, that sounds easy enough. Havent got my lap top on me to try but will give it a crack tonight. I dont have access to net often ( in between places while we sort out last minute plans for the trip!) so thanks for the help I appreciate it.

[Jules @ Aawen4x4]

DieHard is spot on with the way to setup your gps or gps mouse with your computer.

Basically any GPS that can work with a computer will require software. Usually the software that comes with the GPS is enough to get the gps talking to the computer and that's about it.

To get anything useful out of you GPS you will need to have mapping software running on the computer. There are two types of mapping software on the market, vector and raster.

Vector mapping or more commonly "Routing" maps will give you directions and routes to a specific destination and includes products like Garmin Metroguide and Cityguide or Destinator. Most consumer based GPS's will have built in maps in the vector format, ie TomTom.

Raster maping is where the computer has a geo-referenced picture of a map, usually topographic, that it displays. This will not give you direction to your destination but will tell you where you have been and can help you plan your trips. There is more information on a raster map and it is essentially an electornic version of a paper map. Software for this type of map is like, OziExplorer or Track Ranger.

I personally use both types of mapping software depending on where I am travelling. For 4WD Trips I use OziExplorer to log my tracks and show me details of the surrounding area. For City driving and navagation I use destinator as I can plug in an address and recieve turn by turn directions to my destination.

There is a little piece of software that will allow you to "split" the gps signal into multiple applications called Xport3 that I use to achieve easy switching between the two types of programs.

Have fun and drop me a line if you need help.

Jules @ Aawen4x4

[smash]

can you just run ozi explorer and a gps receiver on a laptop

[diehard]

yep.

[ChunkyCharcoal]

I've been thinking about getting a lappie and cheapish GPS & Oz.

What is the minimum size laptop spec I would need???:confused:

[Madharry]

Whats the thoughts on a Garmin 76 linked with laptop and NatMap. haven't spent the money yet.
Are these good for general use, needed for very remote areas

[Jules @ Aawen4x4]

ChunkyCharcoal,

According to OziExplorer the laptop or computer needs to be "A PC running Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP", so just about anything will do. The key is to make sure that you have enough space for the maps that you want and enough memory to load the maps. NATMAP is up to 2.5Gb of space
so you would need probably 5-10Gb of free space, but I do know of people who run with only 4Gb total for the computer.